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Saturday, February 13, 2016

Advice I Would Give My Younger Self

You know how you always wanted to do what you love and wanted to have a life where money is not a concern? That life should be centred on living out your passion than on earning lots of money? And how you think mum and dad are being boring and cynical by asking you to go for professions that pay well?

You know what? They are right. As much that I hate to admit it, money does drive the world. And passion alone, without money, is not enough to earn you a living in this world. You would struggle every day to make ends meet, constantly worried about whether there is enough in your bank account. Your next paycheck is literally your lifeline to surviving for the next month.

I know you'll probably hate me for what I've become, but I suppose this is just life pummeling each of us. Some of us may emerge from all this unscathed or stronger, but the most of us have no choice but to fall in line. That's the simple reality of how life works. You need money to survive. To meet the most basic of your needs. Only after that can you think about dreams.

To be able to dream or to live according to your passions is a privilege. Few of us could afford that. For many of us, survival is more important a concern than doing what we love. Which is why I am asking you to set a goal to achieve a decent enough life first, where money is not a nagging worry, before thinking about your passion.

I know I sound like a cynical old man right now, but this is what adulthood does to you. It makes you realise that life is not as simple as we think it is. And that dreams alone without being realistic does not carry you very far. Some might make it, but many won't. And that is something that I wish that you would have known.

P/s: I also made a video for this. Which was why I wrote this blog post. Video embedded below.

Pp/s: I know that I should be content and happy wherever I am, that I should not compare with others, but the question I have is that: If we stop comparing, it would mean that we would probably stop wanting to improve. Comparison that ends up only in complaining may be useless, but we see others as where we want to go, or even further, isn't that a good thing?